Leaders: Are You Giving Your Team Hope?

We're all feeling the volatility of the last couple months. The way that change is being thrust upon us at the societal level can feel like the rug being pulled from underneath us. It’s affecting many industries directly, and many of the rest indirectly. 

As a leader, it's important to give your team hope. If this is something you would like to do, but don’t quite know where to start, I encourage you to try the following three concepts below.

1. Show them you hear them.

For how simple this is, it’s surprisingly absent from many conversations with leaders. You don't have to agree with your people to show them that you hear them. All you have to do is attempt to understand and show that you're listening. The way you show that you’re listening is to actually name what you hear, rephrasing it back: "I hear you saying that you really need a clear distinction between the manager and senior manager roles on your team to best support them."

2. Don't just speak to the tactical; speak to the invisible

In team coach training, we learned to tune into the "level 4" of a team. “Level 4” is that feeling or mood in the air, the 'in-between' of all the people. We coaches learn to pay attention to that, and leaders can too. Then, speak to what you’re sensing in a hopeful way. "I can sense that many members of this team are feeling anxious. Our work remains important, and I have confidence that sustaining our focus will be the right approach in the end."

3. Do the work to cultivate hope yourself

If you're feeling hopeless, well, inspiring your team will be harder. Yet you're human too. You must do your inner work to maintain groundedness, hope, and clarity. And, if you're just not there yet, you can be honest with your team. As long as getting there is part of your goal, you can let them know you're working on getting grounded and finding hope amidst the reality your team is facing together. In the meantime, that will build cohesion while you all find hope together.

Hope can feel sometimes like a Pollyannaish word. But looking at what it actually speaks to –   the team's self-trust that it will prevail –  is essential. You, as the leader, can make a difference in your team's level of hope.